Archive photo courtesy of Ishtar TV. Residents of Baghdeda (Qaraqosh) celebrate the inauguration of the largest cross at the entrance to the city in 2017.

Ishtartv.com

Baghdad – Christian religious and political leaders in Iraq are increasingly calling for genuine guarantees of the rights of the Christian community, stronger political partnership and equal citizenship, as well as the restoration of state authority and improved security, amid a significant decline in the country’s Christian population over the past decades.

A report published by Coptic Solidarity on September 24, 2026, citing a report by journalist Peter Kenny for Ecumenical News, said that Christian religious and political leaders had called on Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Faleh Al-Zaidi to ensure genuine political partnership for Christians, strengthen state authority, improve security, and support the return of families who have been displaced from their areas in recent years.

Sharp Decline in the Christian Population

According to the report published by Ecumenical News on September 20, citing estimates from church sources and organizations concerned with defending Christian rights, Iraq’s Christian population was estimated at around 1.5 million before 2003, but has since fallen to fewer than 200,000 people.

The report said that the decline has been linked, according to Christian leaders and organizations monitoring the community’s situation, to waves of displacement and emigration following wars and violence, as well as economic pressures and inadequate protection in several areas with historically significant Christian populations.

Calls to Create Conditions for the Return of Displaced Christians

In remarks cited by the report, Mar Paulus III Nona, Patriarch of the Chaldean Church in Iraq and the World, expressed hope that conditions would improve in a way that would allow Christians to regain confidence in their homeland and society and enable families to return to their places of origin.

The patriarch stressed that the coming period should witness a reverse migration, with families returning to their original areas once the necessary conditions for a secure and stable life are in place.

He also emphasized that peace, coexistence, respect for human dignity, and the protection of the legitimate rights of all components of society are fundamental pillars for building a stable society, according to Ecumenical News.

Calls for Political Partnership and Equal Citizenship

In the same context, the report quoted Ano Jawhar Abdoka, Minister of Transport in the Kurdistan Regional Government and Secretary-General of the Christian Alliance in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, as warning of the growing challenges facing Christians in Iraq and the wider Middle East.

His remarks came during the 33rd General Assembly of the Interparliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy in Helsinki, where he called for genuine national partnership, meaningful reforms, equal citizenship, fair representation, and the strengthening of the rule of law as essential elements for safeguarding the future of Christians in Iraq.

Abdoka also called on the Iraqi government to take decisive steps to protect Christians from the influence of armed groups and unofficial economic offices, and to guarantee their rights as an indigenous people of Mesopotamia, according to the report, which cited The New Arab.

Security and Stability as Conditions for the Continuation of Christian Presence

These demands come amid broader calls to address the factors that have driven thousands of Christian families to leave Iraq, including security concerns, displacement, and economic pressures, as well as the need for genuine political representation and equal legal protection.

The report indicates that a number of Christian leaders believe the future of the Christian presence in Iraq depends on the ability of state institutions to uphold the rule of law, protect citizens, and create an environment in which families who have left the country can reconsider returning.

The demands therefore extend beyond temporary security measures to include political, legal, and economic guarantees aimed at restoring Christians’ sense of security and citizenship, while creating the conditions necessary for those who remain to stay and for those forced to emigrate or flee to consider returning.